Coconut oil rescued me!

For about the last year, I have been trying to switch from deodorant with aluminum to natural, aluminum-free deodorant.  When I saw the naturopath last year at about this time, she detected aluminum in my system when she muscle tested me.  I will talk about the importance of changing your deodorant to an aluminum-free one another time.

Since a year ago, I have literally tried about a dozen different natural, aluminum-free deodorants.  I keep trying because I now understand what aluminum does to your body and I know it is something that I need to do for my health.  None of the deodorants have worked for me.  And I mean none of them.  Oh sure, some will work for half a day and then I stink again.

The only one that has sort of worked for me is a powder deodorant that I buy from Vitacost called Honeybee Gardens Deodorant Powder.  But, even that alone seems to only work about 70%.  I seem to have really stinky underarms and have felt desperate to find something that would work for me.  I was searching on the Internet the other day and found an article from the Green Smoothie Girl, Robyn Openshaw, that said that she sometimes uses coconut oil as a deodorant.  Here is her article: http://blog.greensmoothiegirl.com/2012/02/08/anti-perspirants-and-shaving-do-they-cause-breast-cancer-too/

I have been reading a lot lately about the health benefits of coconut oil.  I buy ours from Amazon – Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

I know there are a ton of benefits to using coconut oil but never thought of using it under my arms!  But, the more I thought about using coconut oil as a natural deodorant, it just made so much sense to me.  Coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.  With it’s anti-bacterial properties, I figured it was worth a try.

So, I figured, what do I have to lose?  I have tried so many other types of deodorants and since I already had coconut oil in my house, I gave it a shot.  The first day I used it, I did not like it at all.  It did not seem to help me stay fresh and not only did I smell, but I smelled like stinky coconuts!  Gross!

I really wanted the coconut oil to work for me since nothing else seemed to do the trick.  I used the coconut oil a second and third day.  The second day was not successful but on the third day, I tried the coconut oil along with the Honeybee Gardens powder deodorant that I had sitting up in my bathroom cabinet.  By the end of the day, I was still smelling fresh!  Whoa!  That was the first for me in my pursuit of a natural deodorant!

I was possibly on to something!  On the fourth and fifth days, I did the exact same routine and was still smelling good by the end of the day!

Here is my regimen – I make sure to wash my underarms very well in the shower or bath.  I use Kirk’s Natural Original Castile Soap (again from Vitacost – see link on my home page).  Once I get out of the shower, I dry my underarms well and then scoop a little bit of coconut oil out of the jar that I keep right in my bathroom.  I let it melt a little in the palm of my hand and then apply it liberally under each arm.  Then, I sprinkle the powder deodorant on each hand and gently rub it under each arm.

I will keep you updated on how this is going for me.  But, if you are like me in your quest to find a natural deodorant and are having a hard time, this may just be your lucky combination as it has been mine (so far)!  Good luck!